The New Ford Fiesta ST Hammers The Old One In A Drag Race

There was a fair amount of Internet fuss when Ford announced that the new Fiesta ST would use a three-cylinder engine instead of the four-pot fitted to the previous – massively successful – one.

Not only that, Ford confirmed it would shrink from 1.6 litres to 1.5. Delve deeper, though, and power was actually up by 20bhp – although the old car did have an overboost function that bumped output temporarily to the same 197bhp – and torque was up from a brief 202lb ft to a permanent 214lb ft.

Similar figures, right? The old car was apparently 100kg lighter, though, based on the figures we could access, and in truth you’d expect the advantage to lie with the old boy. The truth couldn’t be further from that. In one of Car Wow’s regular drag races at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground the new car pulverises the old one, especially once it’s into its stride.

All of this makes us a little suspicious that the new car might be throwing a bit more than quoted at its front wheels. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for a dyno test.